Disenchanting India

Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India

Johannes Quack

First ethnographic study of the contemporary rationalist (atheist, humanist, or freethinking) movement in India

Disenchanting India

Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India

Johannes Quack

Description

India is frequently represented as the quintessential land of religion. Johannes Quack challenges this representation through an examination of the contemporary Indian rationalist movement, which affirms the values and attitudes of atheism, humanism, or free-thinking. Quack shows the rationalists' emphasis on maintaining links to atheism and materialism in ancient India and outlines their strong ties to the intellectual currents of modern European history. At the heart of Disenchanting India lies an ethnographic study of the organization "Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti" (Organization for the Eradication of Superstition), based in the Indian State of Maharashtra. Quack gives a nuanced account of the rationalists' specific "mode of unbelief," describing their efforts to encourage a scientific temper and combat beliefs and practices they regard as "superstitious". Quack also shows the role played by rationalism in their day-to-day lives, as well as the organization's controversial position within Indian society. Disenchanting Indiaprovides crucial insights into the nature of rationalism in the intellectual life and cultural politics of India.

Disenchanting India

Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India

Johannes Quack

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentsPrologueIntroduction

Part I: Object of Inquiry: Indian Rationalists, Modes of Unbelief & Disenchantment1. Indian Rationalists2. Modes of Unbelief3. Rationalization and Disenchantment4. Methodological Remarks and Research Setting

Part II: History: Roots of Organized Rationalism in India5. ''Narrative'' of the Indian Roots of Rationalism6. Evolution of Rationalism in Colonial India7. Influence of the English Rationalist Movement8. Organized Rationalism in 20th Century India9. Recent History of Organized Rationalism in Maharashtra

Part III: Ethnography: Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (ANiS)10. ANiS in Action: The Science-Van11. Organizational Structure and Set-Up of ANiS12. Profile and Agenda of ANiS13. Individual Interpretations and Applications of Rationalism14. Rationalism as a Way of Life15. ANiS in Context16. Impact of ANiS

Part IV Theory: The Mode of Unbelief of ANiS

BibliographyAppendix

Disenchanting India

Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India

Johannes Quack

Author Information

Johannes Quack studied Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Anthropology at the Universities of Bayreuth, Edinburgh, and Heidelberg. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cluster of Excellence "Asia & Europe," Heidelberg University and is currently research fellow at McGill University, Montreal.

Disenchanting India

Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India

Johannes Quack

Reviews and Awards

Max Weber Award from the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies

"Johannes Quack has ventured into new territory in his close study of the Indian rationalist movement, particularly its manifestations in early twenty-first century Maharashtra. He has combined ethnographic analysis, social theory, and a deep knowledge of Indian history with reflections on secularism, religious belief, rationality, enchantment, and disenchantment. The result is a vivid depiction of India in the throes of modernity, in which class, gender, nationalism, and ideological and discursive strategies are contesting for the very future of India. This excellent volume must be examined by anyone interested in modern and contemporary India because it addresses in a most illuminating way a desperately understudied topic."--Frederick M. Smith, Professor of Sanskrit and Classical Indian Religions, University of Iowa

"The book is a rich source of information...It provides the reader with food for thought on complex questions...The narrative is engaging and full of ethnographic detail about personal dilemmas, doctrinal conicts, and rationalist performances. Disenchanting India is a major contribution to and entry point for the study of complex and long-standing problems of Indian society."--H-Net Reviews